cleaning up the debris with style......

What other statesman can claim his accomplishments? \No other leader in a hundred years has been so successful— turning around a country mired in war, chaos and corruption in just a few years and building on that progress.

From a failed state, Russia has progressed to being strong enough to challenge the American Empire and Europe in a proxy war in the Ukraine — and a global economic and diplomatic war — and win in both cases. With China, Russia is creating a new, fairer, more just multipolar international order.

Is Vladimir Putin a genius?

BY JULIAN MACFARLANE

Economic War

Putin was making steady progress. But then everything changed.

In 2014, the Empire, under Tsar Barak Obama, imposed sanctions and continued to mount economic warfare year by year.

But the economic attack achieved the opposite of what it was supposed to — exacerbating Western economic decline while accelerating Russian infrastructural and industrial growth.

If you look at figures posted all over the Internet, you will see that the West sees the Russian economy through the lens of neoliberal economics.

The fact is that American sanctions have reduced Russian imports such that Russia has been forced to create an autarkic economy, that is largely self-sufficient and becoming more so every year. From being a net importer of foodstuffs, Russia went to being a net exporter.

Now, athough imports from the West have fallen, Russia gets all it needs in key sectors from other suppliers—while its exports have risen. New industries are growing up to replace the goods once supplied by Western companies. Below, 2022.

Is Russia suffering?

Moscow was ranked third in the UN–HABITAT City Prosperity Index. UN experts analyzed the following developments in 29 major cities of the world: infrastructure, equity and social inclusion, quality of life, productivity, environmental sustainability and urban governance and legislation.

Moscow also ranked first in the Quality of Life Dimension Ranking, which accounts for a total of 14 indicators, such as health, education, recreation, safety and others.

Sorry, New York doesn’t even rank.

While Russia industrializes, the US dedollarizes— although the brown stuff has yet to hit the fan and he effects are not yet apparent. A major recession in the US economy will however, get…ummm… messy!

Once dollar share drops to 40%, the US economy, which is hugely financialized, with a compromised industrial infrastructure and cosmic debt, may very well collapse.

QOL? Forget that!

Financial collapse could lead to internal conflict — which we already see, with the country more and more divided.

That’s bad for the US, of course and also dangerous for the world, given the delusional state of American culture and a leader who constantly confuses his car keys and the nuclear keys.

Of course, as long as the US doesn’t start firing off nuclear missiles—which is less likely than wars of secession or an invasion of Canada or Mexico —or something equally crazy—the world as a whole will be better off.

It will be mostly thanks to one man — Vladimir Putin, who was willing to go the distance with the global bully.

In a street fight, it isn’t always the bigger guy who wins. Nor even trained boxers or MMA fighters. That’s because in street fights there are no rules. What matters is strategy.

The Tao of Vladimir Putin

One of my earliest articles on Substack was the Tao of Vladimir Putin, which was hugely popular and republished on Medium.com, Global Research, Dissident Voice and other places.

Putin himself has credited his experience with martial arts—judo especially, but also combat Sambo—a changing his life.

Judo changed my way of thinking, my view of life, and my interactions with other people.

I have lived in Japan for many years, and I have studied Judo, Akiko `Karate, and Shorinji Kenpo (a mix of kung-fu and aiki-jutsu. Every martial art has advantages and disadvantages, as Bruce Lee noted. But as he said, what really mattersis state of mind.Or maybe just “mind”. Your personal “Tao”.

While the US and NATO are nominally much more powerful than Russia, Russia is winning through strategy.

Of course, some will argue that Russia is not so much winning as its enemies are losing —through over -confidence and lack of thought.

If Putin has “genius”, it is his ability to think holistically; not just short-term as in the West— but long term. He connects the dots.

Putin has vision. As all geniuses do. The US needs its own Putin.

More on Putin and genius things soon….

https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/the-genius-of-vladimir-putin

the greater game.......

Russia has maintained its lease of a new embassy site in Canberra, despite a push to strip it due to inactivity.

The Russian government took the Commonwealth to court over the cancellation of the lease in Yarralumla.

The Federal Court ordered the Australian government to not interfere with Russia’s “quiet enjoyment of the land”.

The Australian government has also been ordered to not re-enter or take possession of the land for a five-year period.

The lease was cancelled by the National Capital Authority on the basis of inactivity.

Foreign affairs department secretary Jan Adams said the cancellation and subsequent reinstatement of the lease were not related to Australia’s stance against Russia and its invasion of Ukraine and were a matter of contract law.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said people would be concerned that Russia would be entitled to build a brand new embassy at a prime location in Canberra.

“Surely the government is looking at avenues, legal (and) appropriate avenues, to ensure the Russian Federation doesn’t get to exercise this right to build a sparkling new embassy,” he said on Thursday.

Ms Adams said Australia was a nation that respected the rule of law and property rights.

The foreign affairs department was consulted by the National Capital Authority but didn’t get involved in the proceedings.

Senator Birmingham also pushed the government to provide extra assistance to Ukraine, after Kyiv recently called for the donation of Australian Hawkei vehicles and tanks.

Ukraine has launched a public campaign for extra Australian support, backed by a social media video using footage from the Australian smash hit film Mad Max.

Senator Birmingham said it was embarrassing that Ukraine had to result to public campaigns after direct lobbying from Kyiv to the government.

“This is now a public campaign being waged by the Ukrainian government and officials, presumably out of frustration because they haven’t managed to get a response from Australia,” he said.

“It speaks to our standing in the world, it speaks to perceived support of Ukraine, it speaks to the responsiveness of the Australian government.”

The government says it continues to support Ukraine and condemns Russia’s illegal invasion.

Ms Adams also defended the fact that the Australian embassy in Kyiv was yet to reopen, despite other Western nations re-opening their consulates.

Ms Adams said no Australian embassies were open in active war zones “and certainly none that have drone and missile strikes occurring”.

Relocating back to Kyiv required a robust assessment of security, which had recently deteriorated.

Unlike some NATO countries, she said Australia didn’t have a defence presence within Ukraine.

“As soon as the conditions allow, I would be very pleased to relocate back into Kyiv,” she said.

– AAP

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/06/01/russia-wins-court-battle-act-embassy/?breaking_live_scroll=1

The Kremlin has said that it has no information on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin plays any video games.

“I am unaware that the president had played video games. I have never seen it and have not heard this from him,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

Putin briefly mentioned video games during his meeting with a group of young entrepreneurs at a business expo in Moscow on Tuesday.

Vasily Ovchinnikov, the head of Russia’s Organization for the Development of the Video Game Industry, asked the president if he had “played on his off-days.”

“I play on my working days,” Putin replied, in what was widely understood as a joke.

https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/577244-putin-playing-video-games/